Struggling Notts County meet in-form Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday travel to Meadow Lane to face Notts County on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, with a 7.45pm UK kick-off on League One matchday 12. Martin Paterson’s side are 23rd with seven points and have lost four league games in a row, scoring once. Henrik Pedersen’s Wednesday are sixth, unbeaten in nine in all competitions, and come in off a 5-0 thrashing of AFC Wimbledon. The referee is Stephen Parkinson.
“We haven’t lost in nine games… We want to go and score goals and blow teams away.” – Sheffield Wednesday forward Davis Keillor-Dunn
Predicted lineups: Notts County vs Sheffield Wednesday
Notts are without Matty Platt, Lewis Macari, Dean Campbell and Emile Acquah, while Oli Cooper and Luka Smyth are doubts. Cooper is their top scorer and best-rated player, so his fitness matters. Daniel Kanu is expected to lead the line. Wednesday lose goalkeeper Joe Lumley for two to three weeks with a rib injury, so Ashley Maynard-Brewer starts. Swinkels, Onyango, Liongola and Louie Barry remain out, but Max Lowe is back after missing eight games with a hamstring problem and Di’Shon Bernard played 75 minutes on Saturday on his return after 19 months out.
Notts County Team News & Preview
Notts have hit a wall. After an unbeaten start to the season in their first five league games, they have lost to Bradford (0-1), Reading (0-2), Oxford (1-2) and Wycombe (0-2), and they did not manage a shot on target in Saturday’s defeat at Wycombe. The only bright spot in that spell was a 5-1 cup win over Nottingham Forest’s under-21s.
The main issue is goals. Notts have scored eight in nine league games, and their strikers have contributed two of them, both from Smyth, who is now a doubt. At Meadow Lane they have won once in four (W1 D1 L2) with four goals scored. With Cooper also uncertain, a lot rests on Kanu, who has yet to score in the league.
What works for or against Notts County
- Notts drew 1-1 with Leicester and at Huddersfield earlier this season.
- Four straight league defeats with one goal scored.
- No shots on target at Wycombe on Saturday.
- Top scorer Oli Cooper and Luka Smyth are both doubts.
Sheffield Wednesday Team News & Preview
Wednesday are flying. The 5-0 win over Wimbledon extended their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions, and their only league defeat came at home to Bradford, 1-0. Pedersen called Max Lowe’s return fantastic and described Reece James as really, really strong.
The away record is what stands out for this fixture. Wednesday have won at Leyton Orient, Wycombe and Peterborough, all 2-1, and drew 2-2 at Huddersfield, so they have scored twice in every league game on the road. Jamal Lowe leads the scoring with five, and Wednesday average six shots on target per game. The concern is the schedule: this is the second of three games in a week, with Bernard only just back and Lumley out.
What works for or against Sheffield Wednesday
- Unbeaten away from home: W3 D1, with two goals in every game.
- Unbeaten in nine games in all competitions.
- Joe Lumley is out, so Maynard-Brewer starts in goal.
- Second game of a three-game week.
Notts County vs Sheffield Wednesday Odds
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Notts County Form, Stats & Data
Notts are not as bad as their position suggests on xG: 1.04 for and 1.18 against per game is closer to a mid-table profile. But they average only three shots on target per game, and the gap between expected and actual goals against (1.44) shows how often their mistakes have been punished. That makes Cooper’s fitness one of the key questions of the night.
Sheffield Wed Form, Stats & Data
Wednesday’s 2.10 xG per game is a promotion-level attacking figure, and their actual scoring (2.22) is right in line with it, so this is not a hot streak built on luck. The defence has been helped by good goalkeeping, with 1.36 xG against per game but only 0.89 goals conceded, which makes Lumley’s absence worth watching.
Notts County vs Sheffield Wednesday: Prediction & Betting Tip
I like Wednesday to win. They have the better attack by a distance, they have scored twice in all four away league games, and they face a Notts side that has lost four in a row, managed one goal in that run and failed to register a shot on target on Saturday. With Cooper and Smyth both doubts, I struggle to see where Notts‘ goals come from, and Wednesday’s 2.10 xG per game should create enough chances against a defence that has conceded 1.44 goals per game.
My main concern is Wednesday’s squad situation. This is the middle of a three-game week, Bernard has only just returned after 19 months out, and Lumley’s injury puts Maynard-Brewer in goal. Notts have also shown they can frustrate better sides, drawing 1-1 with Leicester and at Huddersfield. That is why this is a medium stake rather than a big one, but the gap in form and quality is wide enough for me to back the away win.
My selection is Sheffield Wednesday to win at 2.08 with Winz, with 0-2 as my correct-score call.